IDRIS ELBA WAS ‘DISHEARTENED’ OVER JAMES BOND CASTING BACKLASH

Idris Elba has admitted that he was very disappointed that people were opposed to him playing the role of "James Bond" because of the color of his skin. The rumors started back in 2014 when an email from Sony Pictures senior executive Amy Pascal where she said "Idris should be the next Bond."

Idris told Vanity Fair that he has no plans to play Bond, saying "You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin;And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to."

Idris said that playing Bond would be a dream come true if it were offered to him, but he wouldn't go looking for it. He explained, "James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey. Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?,’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s fascinating to me. But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.’ Because, by the way, we’re talking about a spy. If you really want to break it down, the more less-obvious it is, the better."

He continued, "Bond is one of the biggest franchises in the world, and for that reason, whoever ends up playing it, lives it. You’re THAT character, and known as that character for many, many years. I’m creating characters now that can still live alongside Idris. Not ones that take over me and solely define me."

IDRIS TALKS MARRIAGE

Idris also opened up about married life. The actor and Sabrina Dhowre tied the knot back in April. He said, "Everything's a balance in life. I have to do the work, because it's a popular time for me, and it's best to have that. But also: I'm madly in love with my wife and my children."

He continued, "At home, I'm not famous: I'm me. And to my team and my family and the people that I work with every day when we build what we build, we're not famous. You know what I mean? It's day one every day."